Opinions on Yanmar 3gmd

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The up side of that little Yanmar is to replace it will not break the bank, but I would expect long service life, sailors are notoriously cheap, they wouldn't want a short term diesel that needed replacing often.
 
Many Albin 25's have Yanmars. 3GH (27hp 3 cylinders) and all that I know of like them. I had a HM 35 in my Albin. I always thought they were all FWC w/o seawater in the blocks. So some are SWC w seawater in the blocks?
 
My first sailboat was built in 1976/77 with a new YSE12. It was salt water cooled for its entire life. I ran into the boat and its current owner in 2007 and learned that he had just done a replacement of the old engine, as the boat was then new to him and he worked at a Yanmar dealer, so got a good price on a newer model. Once the YSE was out, he tore it down and found that, other than a little scale in the water passages, it was ready for another 30 years service.
One noticeable characteristic of the salt water cooled engine was the lower temp thermostat, to reduce the accumulation of scale. Apparently it worked well.
 
Are all these SWC Yanmars are cast iron blocks?

In the Albins in BC Canada a lot of them have old SWC Volvos too. And the original Albin 25 was powered by a SWC 2cyl Albin engine .. produced by Albin before the boat. Very unusual. And I know of several still running.
 
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welcome Finntas

Hello All,
Was searching for anything to do with a Finn8 and stumbled across this site and thread. My boat is a Finn8, recently acquired, and I noted with enjoyment the confusion the double ended design has caused. Nothing new there. The boating community around where I live has responded in a similar fashion. I have thought about painting Port and Starboard different colors. Now that would give cause to some serious commentary!

Regarding the real topic of this thread, I have used raw water cooled Yanmars for many years and am not disappointed. At the risk of stating the obvious, with raw water cooling the number one requirement is to check the sacrificial anodes. Yanmars often make access to the anode plugs difficult, but the more often you do it, the easier it gets.


Nice to see another Finn8 owner on the site. Did you purchase the Finn that was recently advertised on-line located in Tassie? I saw the ad. , she was out at a farm with no prop. What does she have as a power plant? I would love to see you post a few pics on site.
For myself, I have been cruising the Queensland coast since March. From Harvey Bay up through the Whitsundays and on to Magnetic island "Oh Maggie how I love Ya" then to on Hinchinbrook and as far as Dunk island.
That was northern limit. As of now sitting in George's creek - inside the narrows of Curtis Island near Gladstone and slowly heading back south.
I have experienced all types of weather Qld could offer- bar a cyclone - thank god - and can safely say this is a safe vessel.
Wish you the best,hope to see some pics and info on your boat.
regards brett
 
Hi Brett,
Yes, that’s the Finn8 I now have. The owner, an ex-diesel mechanic, had her at home for refurbishment, in preparation for his retirement. By the time he had completed the mechanical and electrical work, he decided to retire to the UK and put the boat on the market. So now I am tidying-up the rest and doing some paintwork.
The engine is a Yanmar 3GMD, 22.5 hp Engine No. 02577, Model built 1980 - 1983. Pushes it along very nicely.
My background consists of dinghy and keel boat sailing. This is my first power boat although it does carry a mainsail and jib. OK for running down-hill and reaching, but, to quote Uffa Fox, “even a turd can sail down-wind”. You need a far bit of speed, or its little rudder becomes ineffective behind the stopped prop.
Have tried her out in a strong wind with a steep chop, just under power and found her to be very well behaved. But with your cruising experience you would know all about that.

Am rather impressed with the cruising you have done so far. Superb location for it. Are you single handing? Do you use auto-helm? As you are of course aware, the cyclone season up there is about to start. But I gather you have a decent road trailer, which would come in handy. No point in being a hero!

Where I am, in Cygnet in the South of Tas, we have great cruising waters with plenty of scenic and safe anchorages. All waiting for me

Am not used to the forum scene and do not know whether long diatribes are permitted.
Enjoy your enviable cruise.
Cheers/Svend
 
Hello Gaston.
Interesting... All I know is that my Finn had a faded Qld registration number.
 
Hello Gaston.
Interesting... All I know is that my Finn had a faded Qld registration number.


Mine had a interesting history it was 18 years old when I purchased it and only had 15 hours engine time 3 cyl BMW around 40 hp .It also had many factory extras inc conditioning, fridge , radar Later I was informed it was the boat used at boat shows and spent most of its life on the trailer been carted around Australia and once was taken to NZ. I was a lot younger and adventitious back then my friend and I made our way from Hawks Nest to Hobart taking our time and after a hairy crossing of Bass Strait spent 8 weeks in Tasmania then returned home . We were only talking about our trip a few weeks ago and laughed at what we used for navigation and how handy a iPad would have been .
 
Advice re Finn 8

[Hello Brett, I am new to this forum and have for some time been looking out for a Finn 8. I am planning on retiring by motorhome around Australia but need a capable sea boat in tow. I like the idea of a Finn 8 and may well use or increase its sailing performance to save fuel when ever possible. My main interest is how well does it tow? How heavy is it? Have you towed it yet and if so what was the vehicle you used? Do you know the all up weight on the road: boat, trailer, gear etc ?

How do you like the boat? One I saw near where I live on Scotland Island seems to roll a lot with passing boats. Have you noticed this? Does she behave better when underway and how does she go in a reasonable seaway? I know I will do short offshore sea hops because I like being offshore. I currently have a pilothouse cutter sailing boat but getting older and now with a baby I need something more placid. In the past I have owned trailer sailers, offshore sailing boats and catamarans.

As she is unlined internally do you find it gets lots of moisture when sleeping onboard? I am surprised by the poor fit out of Finn 8s and plan to refit whatever I buy to look half decent inside. We will probably use it for weeks if not months at a time. Do you use the cockpit area amidships much and would it make a good area to cover with a bimini and side covers? With all those large windows in the main cabin does she get hot in summer or is there good ventilation?

Lots of questions. Any answer would be very much appreciated.
Thanks guys! Colin
 
We have a Yanmar 3GM30-YEU in the LeComte. Raw water, heat exchanger. Put about 1200 hours on it in 11 years. Problems: fatigue failure of the 6" nipple between the exchanger and elbow (most are close-coupled; our engine was lower with respect to the muffler), one raw water pump (the YEU means that it was an engine meant for Europe and has a Swedish raw water pump), endless munching of alternator belts (the PO installed a 100amp Balmar). The engine itself required nothing but oil changes, never added any.
 
Finn 8

I purchased the Finn 8 "Pintail" in February 2019 and it is currently moored in Geilston Bay, Hobart. I have been following these boats since the 1980's and have copies of numerous old boat tests from when they were first built by Setoncraft Marine in Gosford in the early 1980's.
 
I purchased the Finn 8 "Pintail" in February 2019 and it is currently moored in Geilston Bay, Hobart. I have been following these boats since the 1980's and have copies of numerous old boat tests from when they were first built by Setoncraft Marine in Gosford in the early 1980's.


Welcome to trawlerforum,

I had seen the for sale listing of your 'new' boat on-line recently.
Hope you will post some pics soon.:dance::dance::dance:
 
The Yanmar GM series were great engines and specifically made for marine use. A raw water engine could be converted to fresh, but that would be quite expensive unless you had all of the parts. I didn't see compression release linkage on this engine? All other GM series I have encountered had them. Allows easy starting with weak battery or if fuel was ran out. Some markets even had a hand crank to allow emergency starting. Mine ran well for the years I had it.

Daniel
 

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